Feature story
The report highlighted the shift of the centre of Christianity from the Global North to the Global South and that more Christians live in Africa today than on any other continent.
Noting the “giant strides made and remarkable signs of hope,” the report did not minimize the “myriad of human-caused challenges.”
The report suggests that these trends are “sustained by multiple interests rooted in politics, economics, social issues, and religion” and various forms of structurally entrenched injustice and destruction, but that “Our vibrant faith in the Living God through Christ Jesus has sustained us in the face of numerous trials and tribulations.”
The report raised concerns about violence in the Anglophone region of Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Mozambique, and elsewhere on the continent and the related humanitarian issues and increase in refugees and internally displaced people. The violent approach to Islamization through the activities of terrorist groups, such as Boko-Haram, Al-Shabab, ISIS, and others, was a specific concern. They noted the particular challenge of this violent action to interreligious dialogue.
The report appealed for the continued and increased involvement of youth and youth advisors in the central committee and other committees of the WCC.
Emphasizing the love of Christ and the imperative of the Great Commission, participants called for continued transformation “by the renewing of our minds.”
In the report, African delegates verbalized their “audacious hope for life-giving solidarity” from the WCC “in support of our aspirations for an integrated, peaceful, and prosperous Africa.”
